Important Information

In pursuance of Standards and Recommended Practices (SARP) of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), manual / hand-written passports are no longer usable for international travel since November 24, 2015. Now, the foreign governments grant visa or entry ONLY to persons possessing Machine Readable Passports (MRPs).

The Government of Pakistan has, therefore, introduced Machine Readable Passports (MRPs) for Pakistani Nationals at home and abroad incorporating special security features designed to check human trafficking and forgery. It contains digitally printed personal data with a photograph in the bar code.

The MRP facility at our Mission has been operationalised on 1st June 2015 in full replacement of manual passport service. Therefore, effective from June 01, 2015, no application for manual passport is acceptable at our Mission.

No pre-filled Passport Application Form is required to apply for MRP. Applicants' data, photograph, signatures and biometrics are captured on spot. Hence, the MRP applicants residing in our area of jurisdiction must come in person to our office in Houston along with the required documents (details given further below). Our Office Address is: 11850, Jones Road, Houston, TX, 77070. Our Consular Jurisdiction covers the States of Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Georgia & Florida.

No prior appointment is necessary to apply for MRP. Applicants will be attended to on first-come-first served basis Mon- Fri (except a public holiday) between 9:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. We follow Central Standard Time (CST). Our Holiday Calendar for the current year can be seen athttp://www.pakistanconsulatehouston.org/public_holidays.asp

Once applicants' turn comes up in the queue, the data entry process does not take more than 10-15 minutes. The old passports of the applicants are cancelled and returned to them on spot. The data for issuance of new passport is sent to Pakistan. The new passports arrive the Consulate General from Pakistan in due course of time according to the ordinary or urgent fees paid by the applicants (Fee structure given further below). The applicants should convey their decision to the passport officer at the time of submission of passport application whether they would pick-up their passport personally or would like to receive it via post.

MRP system fetches the data from National Database and Registration Authority's (NADRA) warehouse. Therefore, possession of an original and valid Identity document issued by NADRA is a pre-requisite of MRP except for senior citizens (aged 64 and above) who may apply for MRP with expired (but original) NADRA Card.

If there is discrepancy between the information provided by applicants and their data in NADRA's database, MRP will be issued per NADRA's data. If an applicant's NADRA document contains only his/her Year of birth without any date, the DOB will appear as '1/1/year' on his MRP. For example, if date of birth in NADRA document is 1965, in MRP will appear as 1/1/1965. In order to have correct data in MRP, the applicants must get their NADRA documents rectified before applying for MRP.

No manual correction/ modification is permissible in an MRP. If any correction/ modification is needed in MRP, the applicant should apply for correction/ modification in NADRA Identity document. When applicant has received the modified/revised NADRA document, he/ she should apply for the modification in New MRP.

The validity of an MRP (5 years or 10 years) as well as its processing time (ordinary-7 weeks/ urgent- 3 weeks after the booking date) are a function of fees. The processing time in case of lost passport cases will be counted from the date of receipt of confirmation of lost passport by its issuing authority. MRPs may be issued with five-year or ten-year validity to applicants of all ages except minors below 15 years of age who are issued only 5 year valid MRP.

The Fee Structure for various categories of MRP is as under:

Category of MRP

Validity of Passport

Ordinary Processing Fees (US $)

Urgent Processing Fees (US $)

Passport Renewal/ Modification/ New Passport

5 Years

46

120

Passport Renewal/ Modification/ New Passport

10 Years

83

216

Issuance of MRP in lieu of lost Passport:

First time Loss

5 Years

$92

$240

First time Loss

10 Years

$165

$432

Second time Loss

5 Years

$184

$480

Second time Loss

10 Years

$331

$864

Fees is payable to Consulate General of Pakistan, Houston only in the form of Money Order or Cashier's check. Personal checks or cash are not accepted. Fees, once deposited, is non-refundable.

On submission of MRP application, the passports are printed in Pakistan and sent to the Consulate General. Thereafter, the applicants can either pick the passports from our office during given delivery hours or can have them mailed for which they have to provide self-addressed, prepaid, certified mailing envelopes. After mailing out, the Consulate General does not bear any responsibility if passports are lost in transit.

Requirements for New/ Renewal/Modification of MRP

Machine Readable Passport (MRP) application processing requirements are different for adults and children and dual nationals. Please go through the relevant section carefully before visiting the Consulate General of Pakistan Houston for processing of your MRP application as all documents listed under each category are mandatory and our staff will not be able to process your application if the requirements are not fully met.

Requirement for Adult applicants (18 years of age and above)

Personal Presence of the applicant at the Consulate General

Applicants aged between 18-63 years must produce any one of the following Original & Valid NADRA Cards along with its photocopy (front & back):

Dual national applicants must also present their original foreign passport along with its photocopy. MRP will be issued to dual nationals aged between 18-59 after clearance from Pakistan.

If applicants are Pakistan Government employees, they will be required to produce original No Objection Certificate (NOC) issued within last ninety (90) days by their respective Ministries / Divisions / Departments.

Requirement for Minor applicants (below 18 years of age )

Personal Presence of the applicant at the Consulate General accompanied by either one of the parents

Applicant must present original & valid NICOP along with its photocopy (front & Back) OR NADRA Child Registration Certificate (CRC)/ Rg-2 Form (B-Form) and its photocopy.

Original previous Passport with photocopy of its bio-pages (first four pages) (in case of renewal of passport)

Applicants Original Birth Certificate containing both parents' names and its photocopy

Father's Pakistani Passport/NADRA Card and its photocopy.

Proof of applicant's legal residence status in the US (copy of Green Card / US Passport/ visa/ work authorization- if applicable).